Happy International Day of Forests! – March 21 marks the International Day of Forests (IDF). The United Nations General Assembly established IDF on November 28, 2012 as a means of raising awareness of the beauty, importance and plight of the world’s forests. The history of IDF stretches back to 1971 when the 16th session of the Conference for Food and Agriculture voted…

In just three weeks, a raging inferno in Indonesia has released more CO2 than Germany does in a year, and more than that of the entire U.S. economy. Clearing forest and altering landscapes and waterways underlain by carbon-rich peat deposits for palm oil agriculture is to blame.

As cacao production in West Africa continues to decline during the current period of record-high demand for chocolate South American nations such as Peru have been rushing to expand the land under cacao cultivation to fill the gap. That, in turn, is accelerating the pace of deforestation and the degradation of other crucial ecosystems and the life-supporting services and products…

St. Louis-based rapper Prince Ea is an artist that understands the power of narrative to propel change. As of this writing, his Earth Day video has been viewed more than 33 million times on Facebook alone. His rapped words cut like a knife. Unless we choose to ignore then, we are obliged to make a choice. Inspired by a recent…

Tropical forest conservation has been a hallmark of Costa Rica’s ecosystems-based development model. Now, Costa Rican farmers are making use of a new climate-smart software tool developed by the World Bank and UN FAO to enhance output as well as enhance resiliency and reduce GHG emissions and environmental degradation.

Contributing billions of dollars per year to local communities and national economies, UNESCO Natural World Heritage sites provide critical ecosystem benefits and a lifeline that keeps our connection to nature intact.